Strawberry Gashes
by Eden Lies
Summary: AU. An abusive teacher and his student. A very, very dark Kakasaku, done to the song Strawberry Gashes by Jack Off Jill.
1. Strawberry Gashes

I don't own the characters, they belong to Kishimoto. I don't own/didn't write the song Strawberry Gashes either, I believe it belongs to Jack Off Jill. Please don't sue me XO!! Enjoy!

* * *

  
**Strawberry Gashes**

_Turn her over_

_A candle is lit, I see through her_

_Blow it out and save all her ashes for me_

_

* * *

_Heat. The air in the room is thick and stifling. Tick tock, tick tock. The classroom is silent except for the scratching of pencils on paper and the sound of the clock. I can feel the beads of sweat that are beginning to accumulate at the base of my neck. I watch her. She can't focus-she knows that she's lost herself. She feels me looking at her. She always does. I've trained her well, and she is my dearest pet. She has fear in her being, I know. And I know that she knows that I know. I can see right through her. To me, she is an open page. A page I have written in, molded, and changed to fit my own liking. I suppose I should not take all credit for what she has become-she still retains traces of who she used to be. Petal pink hair and a certain light in her emerald eyes remain, so I still know that it is her. Nonetheless, she is mine. Why should my creation not belong to me?

The bell rings. Everyone leaves, but she still does not hear a thing. Soon, she and I are the only people left in the classroom. She awakens from her trance, and gets up. She picks up her bookbag, adjusts her uniform, and makes her way to the door. She stops in front of it, and trembles slightly as if she were cold. She isn't of course, not in this thick, humid weather. I can practically hear the sweat dripping from her forehead as I approach her from behind. She knows I am coming, and stands stock-still. Stopping just short of making contact with her body, I place both of my hands on the door on either side of her head. My body heat is engulfing her, but instead of making her even warmer I know it simply makes her feel cold. I bring my lips close to her ear, and all I do is breathe in and out heavily. In, out. In, out. She is shaking now. I grin and whisper, "I can teach you so many things…"

I grab and turn her around to face me, and by looking into her eyes I can tell that its lights-out for her.

* * *

_Curse me sold her_

_The poison that runs its course through her_

_Pale white skin with strawberry gashes all over all over_

_

* * *

_Her blood is overly warm, even taking the temperature outside into account. It burns, almost as if she's poisoned, and I think that maybe in a way she is. I feel it sliding along my skin when I run my hand up her destroyed arm. The contrast between her ruby red blood and pale skin looks heavenly to me. If I close my eyes I can almost imagine her as some sort of forlorn, fallen angel. My angel.

She is awake now, and her eyes seem already so different. The light that I normally see is gone, and I feel even more excited. But then all of a sudden, her eyes seem to shatter and she screams and screams and screams. And then I realize that her poison is her fear of me.

* * *

_Watch me fault her_

_You're living like a disaster_

_She said kill me faster_

_with strawberry gashes all over_

_

* * *

_She slaps me hard across the face, and I feel anger flare up inside of me, along with something else. Calm down, my brain tells me. I can't. I slap her back, then again and again and again. She stops responding to my slaps. Her head bows low in defeat, and her strawberry tresses fall forward to hide her face. Her normally pink hair seems to be red now. I tell her to obey me, and she says yes, and then says she would love to. She gets up and leaves the classroom, not uttering a single sound. I let her go. All the while I am thinking of the beautiful gashes spread across her arms, and of how I have her body so thoroughly controlled. I am content. The heat does not get to me anymore, and soon I can't hear the drip drip drip of her blood either

* * *

_Called her over_

_and asked her if she was improving_

_She said "feels fine" it's wonderful wonderful here_

_

* * *

_It is the next day already, and she is once again in my classroom. The air is still dense and stifling, and I can see many of my students are nodding off to sleep. I tell the students remaining awake to work on their homework, and then call her up to my desk. She is awake, of course. I am inwardly excited at what I'm about to do. "What is it, Hatake-sensei?" she asks, standing next to me at my desk. I look at her arms and motion to them, subtly grinning.

"Are you getting better yet?" I say, and stare into her eyes. They give away nothing to me, and all she does is smile back at me. I don't like that smile. There is something in it that seems potentially dangerous.

"I feel fine, sensei," she responds and then goes on to say, "I love it here, its wonderful." That smile is still on her face when she returns to her desk. I have a sour feeling at the back of my throat, and I feel very uneasy. What just happened? How could she have changed again so quickly? My stomach plummets and I hate this feeling I have of being so powerless and confused.

* * *

_Hex me told her_

_I dreamt of a devil that knew her_

_Pale white skin with strawberry gashes all over all over_

_

* * *

  
_

It is late and night, and I am back at home. I should be grading papers, but I can feel an uncontrollable sleep take hold of me. In my dreams, I feel as if I am seeing memories that are of a lifetime ago. One of them stands out to me in particular. She is in it.

Next to her stands a somewhat tall man with shocking silver hair, who could be no more than thirty. He has a mask covering the lower portion of his face, and his eye is covered by some strange metal and cloth. Also with her and the man are two boys-one with black hair and the other with blonde. My dear girl and the others are all in a pretty, pretty meadow, and the sun is setting behind them. She and the man are silent, but the dark-haired boy and the blonde are not. They seem to be arguing with one another, and soon enough, they run off and leave the man alone with my girl. She giggles at the immaturity of the two boys, and the man's one visible eye crinkles up as if he were smiling.

After a few moments of silence the man suggests having a sparring match, and she agrees. The trust and love I see in her eyes surprises me-why is she not afraid? They begin to fight with strange weapons, inhumanely powerful punches, and lightening-quick movements. She receives a cut from a sharp starlike weapon, and her blood drips down to the grass below her feet. The man is laughing at her as she smiles as she stares down at her own pretty blood. He attacks again and again, but she still manages to hold on and stand upright. The man is ruthless and unforgiving. His one red eye, so much like my own, glints in a demonic light. I think, personally, that he looks as if he were the devil himself. I laugh at my own thoughts. No one man is powerful enough to be the devil, I know. I turn my attention back to the fight unfolding before me.

Both of them are still going at it, but it seems as if the battle is winding down Finally, my girl manages to land a powerful hit on the man. He crashes to the floor and does not move, though I doubt he is dead. She is looking down, and remains still, so still. She is holding her breath, waiting for the man to move. And he does. When she looks up my breath catches in my throat-her eyes appear to have the same light I used to see in them. I can still hear her blood dripping. The blood seems to be calling me, and I know I am intoxicated.

I jolt awake, my body covered in sweat. I can still remember the dream vividly, except for one important detail-what did the man look like?

* * *

_Watch me fault her_

_You're living like a disaster_

_She said kill me faster_

_with strawberry gashes all over_

_

* * *

_I am sitting at my desk now, in my classroom, just waiting for the bell to ring. Though the heat should be affecting me, I am completely numb to it. I am staring holes into her head, but she still refuses to look at me. I can't help but to think of the dream version of her-she had been beautiful. I continue staring at her, and finally she looks up. Her dead eyes meet mine and she smiles at me. It is the smile that I hate-it seems to be gloating, telling me I have lost my control. She will stay behind today and learn a lesson, I will make sure of it.

The signal ending class sounds, and once more all the students leave. She gets up and tries to head to the door, but I call out to her and say, "Haruno-san, please stay behind after class. There is something I need to discuss with you." She turns around, and that evil little smile is still plastered to her face. I want to rip it off her pretty face. "Yes sensei," she says sweetly, and it is moments like this that I remember I am a teacher. I feel a surge of power when I remember that I have even more authority over her than I had thought. The last student other than her scurries out and closes the door with a bang.

I take the time to analyze her now. The smile of hers seems a little uneasy now, as if she knows that she has made a big mistake. I am sure that she can see the fire gleaming in my own mismatched eyes. I take a step towards her. The sound of my shoe on the tile reverberates through the nearly empty room.

"Welcome back home," I say, holding out my arms. The warm air in the room seems to make it harder for me to keep them lifted. She does not move towards me. Why won't she return to me? She lifts her chin up, and in an instant her entire demeanor becomes defiant. No, she shakes her head. She says that she is done with how I've treated her. My heartbeats are roaring, and my blood is pulsing wildly through my veins. I am angry, so angry. My body is shaking in rage. My hand shoots out and I clutch onto her arm and pull her over to me. She is still not fazed. My hands attack her body and rip away her uniform, and soon she isn't so sure of herself anymore. I am still shaking, but it isn't because of anger, oh no...it's definitely the excitement.

* * *

_I lay quiet_

_waiting for her voice to say_

_"Some things you lose and some things you just give away"_

_

* * *

  
_

She is a mess right now. Blood covers her body, but it doesn't just come from her cuts. She seems more docile now, and I feel pleased with myself. I tell her, "You know, this is really your fault. You gave your innocence to me, by acting how you did. Sometimes a person really does lose something, but most times they just give it away." I don't expect a response from her, but then she moves. She struggles and finally manages to sit up, looking me straight in the eye. She stands, and I can see that her legs are shaky. Her physical appearance would make anyone think of her as weak, but I can feel the power inside of her. When she speaks to me her voice is cold, and I can detect the venom behind her words.

" You're nothing more than a thief," she hisses, "You fancy yourself to be an artist, but you are nothing but a thief. You have not created me. I am how I am because of myself alone-I did not let you change me. I do not belong to you, and my blood isn't yours, either!" I am furious. How dare she, especially when she very well knows that she belongs to me! After all that I have done for her…

* * *

_Scold me failed her_

_If only I'd held on tighter to her_

_Pale white skin that twisted and withered away from me away from me_

_

* * *

  
_

I gather all my strength and swiftly hit her across the face. She falls back to the floor with a sickening thud. She doesn't move anymore. My own heartbeats are still pounding in my ears. Finally, my mind catches up with my actions and I realize with horror that she is dead. Oh god, what have I done? I collapse to the floor next to her body, still shaking. What have I done, what have I done? My mind goes blank when I close my eyes. When I open them again, the first thing that draws my attention are her arms. They are littered with the cuts I gave her, but amongst those I notice ones I've never seen before. For some reason the blood all over doesn't look all that beautiful anymore. My stomach churns. Why do I feel so sick? I glance at her face I notice how her nose is smashed in, and I retch at the sight. Even after I'm done and I've turned away, I continue to see her mangled body in my mind.

* * *

_Watch me lose her_

_It's almost like losing myself_

_Give her my soul_

_and let them take somebody else get away from me_

_

* * *

_I scream and scream and scream. Blood, blood, blood. Pretty pink is poisoned with blood. What have I done, what have I done? The blood is thick, dark, gruesome. How could I have ever thought it so beautiful? Oh god, oh god. I can't think anymore, the only thing I can see is her. Have I lost my mind? I am vaguely aware of the heavy classroom door opening, and of a person entering, but I don't know who it is. I hear the distant sound of a person screaming, and oh I'm the one screaming. The other person in the room moves and then I hear gunshots and feel bullets in my body. It is only then that I remember the devil from so many lifetimes ago was me.

* * *

_Watch me fault her_

_You're living like a disaster_

_She said kill me faster_

_with strawberry gashes all over all over me_

_

* * *

  
_


	2. Ashes

Thank people for reviewing! I wrote a short little follow up to Strawberry Gashes. I don't own the last italicized line at the bottom, its a part of the song Strawberry Gashes, by Jack Off Jill. Obviously, if you can't tell, this is Ino's POV. The phrase 'dead as a doorknob' is from Charles Dicken's _A Christmas Carol_. I don't own the characters.

**Ashes**

I stand in front of my large bathroom mirror. My best friend is dead. My constant rival, my constant ally. My reflection, one could say. The one person I could count on with all of my secrets. I still cannot get my head to wrap around the information I was given yesterday at school. Sakura is dead. She's dead, dead, dead. Dead as a doorknob. Ever heard that saying before? I grin bitterly at the thought. I don't even recognize the person in the mirror. The eyes staring back at me that were once a bright and brilliant azure are now simply a dull blue. That grin right now was just so…lifeless…it couldn't have been me, could it? I turn away from the mirror and walk out of the bathroom. I can't stand to know that I've changed, and all the mirror does is prove it to me. I leave the house. The only place my mind can hide in other than myself.

I arrive at my destination-school. I head straight to the assembly hall, and then make my way to my seat. Finally, they've decided that in light of recent events, they should keep everyone well informed and review the school policies. That is so typical of human nature-never caring until something goes awry. And even still, when something in their grand scheme gets screwed over, they don't believe it to be their own trouble. With a wave of the hand, they dismiss it as someone else's 'insanity'. I sigh. If only people would take charge of their own issues…

As the superintendents drone on and on about do's and dont's, my wind wanders. Those people quick to accuse others and not realize their own mistakes are the powerful ones. They come in the form of presidents and kings, superintendents and…teachers. They seem to have a level of decorum about them, but in tight situations they are the first to abandon their humanity. They would do anything just to save their own sorry skins. The best word to describe such a thing, in my opinion, is primal. We think that we're better than animals just because we hold power over them, but in a way we are all the same. We live by instinct, and nothing can change that. I feel a pang in my heart then. Why is it that I couldn't tell there was something wrong with my friend? I can't stop thinking about her. Sakura, Sakura, Sakura. Dead, dead, dead. I recall that I was told by Sakura's parents that she would be cremated. Burnt to a crisp. She'll be gone, as if she were never here. I know why they chose to do so. They wanted to 'burn' away all evidence of the violence she had to live through. They felt like hiding their shame. A failure of a daughter, a girl who couldn't protect herself. I feel disgusted at their cowardice. I shouldn't be, though, when I know the truth. Humans are all just animals, really.

…_save all her ashes for me…_


End file.
